CEO - VPL Limited Pakistan

EVOLVE: Kindly share a prelude to your professional career? 

Waqar Asghar: I started my career as a Finance Manager of a Leasing Company and joined Panasian Group in 1998 as Financial Controller. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1999 and was moved to VPL, a Panasian Group Company in 2001 as Finance Manager, and then became Panasian Group CFO in 2006. As a CFO I got the opportunity of working across different business functions and in the process I developed passion for sales. I expressed my interest to the Management in 2007, but didn’t get any attention. So, I decided to focus on my core expertise, however I continued to work closely with CEO’s of Panasian Group Companies to satisfy my inner soul. In 2012, the CEO of VPL left and I was given the opportunity to lead the Company. Since then VPL is growing at an average rate of 25-30% every year, that makes me proud. 

EVOLVE: Tell us something about Panasian Group Pakistan and its association with Swedish Leading Industries? 

Waqar Asghar: Panasian Group is considered a pioneer of Swedish business in Pakistan. Founded in 1969, the Panasian Group is a conglomerate of dynamic and well established companies. The group has long affiliation with Volvo Group of Companies including Volvo Trucks, Volvo Buses, Volvo Construction Equipment & Volvo Penta. The Group became responsible for Sandvik Mining Equipment in 2015. Panasian Group has been associated with Ericson, Atlas Copco and Dynapac for over three decades. Having worked with Swedish companies for over a decade we have inherited culture, environment, process and systems from the Swedish companies. 

EVOLVE: What are your focus areas in Pakistan? 

Waqar Asghar: VPL Limited is a leading supplier of Trucks, Buses, Construction & Mining Equipment, Tools & Equipment, Engines and Generators along with comprehensive after-sales support and value added services. The Company’s diversified product portfolio addresses needs of its customers in transportation, construction, cement, mining, oil & gas and power segments.

EVOLVE: What kind of culture have you maintained at your group and especially in your company VPL? 

Waqar Asghar: The group is enriched with a progressive culture based on integrity, stakeholder focus and business excellence. Having long affiliation with Swedish Companies, we have inherited a lot from Swedish culture. We work with passion, integrity, respect for individuals and care for society and the environment. We have an open door policy, literally, that every manager’s door is open to every employee. The purpose of an open door policy is to encourage open communication, feedback, and discussion about any matter of importance to an employee. We respect each other’s opinion and take decisions with consensus. We believe that over the long term, business success is dependent upon a network of positive relationships. Trust is invariably the critical component in VPL’s success. 

EVOLVE: You must be facing a number of business challenges. How do you address them? 

Waqar Asghar: Every business has its unique challenges. We are a marketing and sales company, offering premium products and services. Our biggest challenge is to hire the right people and retain them. We are able to retain our people with our high performance culture, created through employee engagement. We trust our people, empower them to have courage to act and accept responsibility. 

EVOLVE: What are the important bench-marks, if kept in the right direction, can help any company climb ladders of success? 

Waqar Asghar: It’s not an easy question to answer as businesses of all shapes and sizes use benchmarks to measure business metrics that are hard to quantify: turnover, market shares, Number of employees, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, brand awareness, etc. In our business, market share is the most important benchmark; if kept growing, will help climbing up the ladder. 

EVOLVE: How do you balance pursuing opportunities and maintaining focus? 

Waqar Asghar: We know our business well. We have the skills, knowledge and expertise to do the right things. We see the big picture and decide when to do and what not to do. We carefully choose our options, prioritize and then focus on the ones selected. 

EVOLVE: Is there any company other than VPL that has ever impressed you? 

Waqar Asghar: Panasian Group has been associated with Volvo Group for over 45 years and I am associated with VPL for almost 20 years. I have a lot of inspiration from Volvo Group. Volvo’s core values, customer success, trust, passion, change and performance motivates you to fall in love with Volvo. 

EVOLVE: What is the recipe to achieve long term success? 

Waqar Asghar: In today’s world, especially in a country like Pakistan where people think that in the long-term everybody dies, thinking long-term is not easy. People want to return in the short-term because of uncertainties in the local environment. However, there are many businesses who have shown tremendous growth working with long-term thinking and mindset. I believe the recipe for long-term success varies from business to business. In order to be successful, one should have a very clearly defined vision based on what you want to achieve, and then align the whole of your organization and resources towards achieving that vision. Everybody in the organization should understand and believe in visions. One needs to consistently monitor and focus on short-term goals in order to achieve long-term objectives.

EVOLVE: Where do you see yourself and your organization in the next 5-10 years? 

Waqar Asghar: Our vision is to be recognized by our customers as their preferred and trusted partners whose operating standards are the best in the industry. In terms of market shares of all the products that we are dealing in, we want to be in the top three players in relevant industries. However, our growth rate should be more than the competitors. 

EVOLVE: Any message for the readers of EVOLVE? 

Waqar Asghar: Evolve is a great initiative. I recommend that we all should promote this publication to highlight successful businesses and their stories in Pakistan.